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by Helen HallKitchener Citizen
Kitchener’s former Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) says the “stars aligned” to get her to her retirement city a little earlier than she had planned.
Ladd recently left Kitchener, where she worked for 26 years, to become the new CAO in Barrie.
In an interview last week, Ladd said she and her husband Brent Clarkson had planned to retire in Barrie, which they consider a vibrant community that is both close in proximity to Toronto and their cottage in the north.
Then she saw a posting for her new position in Barrie.
“We thought, what a great opportunity to get engaged in the community so that when we retire, we’re part of it and we will know people,” she explained.
Ladd started as a city planner in Kitchener in 1986. She held a variety of positions in the planning department.
In 2001, council did some restructuring and she accepted the position of General Manager of Strategic
Services, and her responsibilities included the
departments of Information Technology, Human Resources, Economic Development and Strategic Planning.
During this time, she was charged with writing the city’s first strategic plan.
Ladd said some of her favourite memories of working in Kitchener are from when she accompanied workers across the city doing their
jobs.
It started as an auction where management were sold to staff to have them spend a day working with them.
“I got bought by the sewer crew,” Ladd said.
She had the opportunity to spend the entire day with them, visiting pumping stations and responding to a call to locate a sewer blockage.
“That’s when I learned how to use a snake camera,” she recalled. “It was the best experience ever.”
“After that I got the real bug to learn about all the services our staff provide,” she said.
She began to ask staff if she could accompany them, and soon she had the opportunity to help plow roads, see a paving crew in action, and spend some time at the fire station.
“It’s amazing. Once you really understand what each of our services entails, how much you can appreciate what’s involved, and when it comes time to make decisions, you get it,” she said.
Ladd said as a CAO you have to understand every job in the city.
In leaving Kitchener, Ladd said she will miss the people at City Hall the most.
“I spent 26 years of my life there. When I started at the City of Kitchener, I didn’t have children. When I left the City of Kitchener,
my children are adults. My family was born and raised with the City of Kitchener,” she said.
Kitchener mayor Carl Zehr said the people at City Hall will also miss Ladd.
“I will miss her continual enthusiasm for working with people and for making this a city of the future,” he said of Ladd’s departure.
“She was someone I could always be very candid with and deal with on confidential matters.”
The City Hall Rotunda was full on February 9th for a going away party for Ladd. Speakers included the mayor, former Member of
Parliament Karen Redman, coworkers and friends.
Zehr said the city has begun its search for a new CAO. It has hired a consulting firm that has begun advertising.
Zehr said it will take some time to find the right person for the job.
“However, we want to have someone in place as soon as possible,” he said
SPENT 26 YEARS WORKING FOR THE CITY
Kitchener’s Chief Administrative Officer Carla Ladd heads north to the City of Barrie
Kitchener’s Chief Administrative Officer Carla Ladd heads north to the City of Barrie
Kitchener’s former Chief Administrative Officer Carla Ladd speaks to those at her going away party in the City Hall Rotunda February 9.